HIGH SCHOOLS: THE WEEK AHEAD
SOFTBALL
Section playoffs
With the seemingly endless gloomy weather that has made this spring, ahem, memorable, it's almost shocking that the high school postseason is already under way.
While most of the sports are moving (or have already moved) into their end-of-season playdowns this week, it's softball we're concerned with right now. So let's take a look at some of the metro's best softball section tournaments.
Class 3A
• Section 3: The most competitive of the large-school sections. Defending Class 3A state champion Burnsville and its superb pitcher, Kelsey Anderson, earned the No. 1 seed. Bloomington Jefferson, runner-up to Burnsville in the South Suburban Conference, received the No. 2 seed. Keep an eye on Park of Cottage Grove. The Wolfpack finished third in the tough Suburban East and was the only team to defeat Burnsville, beating the Blaze 1-0 in the final of the Eastview Tournament.
• Section 4: North St. Paul has shown that, in some cases, two arms are better than one. The Polars took the top seed in the section largely because of the play of pitchers Carley Pickett and Tabitha Bayers, both of whom sport ERAs below 1.30. The Polars have not had an easy road to the state tournament, however, as Suburban East runner-up Stillwater copped the No. 2 seed and Hill-Murray, second to North St. Paul in the Classic Suburban, is seeded third.
• Section 5: The most dominant pitcher this season, Erica Meyer, leads top-seeded Totino-Grace. Meyer has four no-hitters this season and two other games in which she pitched six no-hit innings. The Eagles will be challenged by the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds -- Centennial, Coon Rapids and Maple Grove -- all of whom compete regularly against much larger schools in the Northwest Suburban.
Class 2A
• Section 5: Park Center shocked many when it won the Class 2A team title in 2010. The Pirates won't sneak up on anyone this year, but they won't have to. Star pitcher Nicola Tade is a year older and wiser, and the offense is solid with juniors Jordan Peterson, Kati Fern and Megan VanHulzen. The top seed in the East Subsection, Park Center could face its toughest test in the No. 2 seed, Mound-Westonka, which finished first in the Wright County.
• Section 4: How dominant has No. 1-seeded St. Anthony been this season? The Huskies (16-1) have outscored their opponents 198-30 and have six regulars hitting .456 or better, led by Sarah Bradt at .500 and Emily Olson at .491. St. Anthony was undefeated going into Saturday's make-up doubleheader against Zumbrota-Mazeppa. The Huskies lost the first game with backup pitcher Sarah DeMars on the rubber but bounced back with a 10-0 victory in the nightcap.
Class 1A
• Section 4: Say this about three-time Class 1A state champion New Life Academy -- the Eagles did not shy away from competition in preparing for a run at a fourth title. Their 15-4 record includes six games against Class 3A teams, against whom they've compiled a 3-3 record. Starting pitcher Rebekah Schmidt is among the metro leaders in strikeouts with 181.
BASEBALL
Monday: St. Thomas Academy at Eden Prairie, 7 p.m.; Eastview at Lakeville North, 3:45 p.m.
Tuesday: Cooper at Mahtomedi, 4:15 p.m.; Minnetonka at Chaska, 7 p.m.
JIM PAULSEN
